


You Have My Heart

by sanserifnotes (tuesdayafternoon)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 1980s, Christmas, F/M, Gen, M/M, Merlin Christmas Fest, Merthur - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2775395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesdayafternoon/pseuds/sanserifnotes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s Christmas in the ’80s, and love is in the air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Have My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt, “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart” for [merlinchristmasfest](http://merlinchristmasfest.tumblr.com/). Also available on [my blog](http://sanserifnotes.tumblr.com/).

The day started slowly. The sun finally decided to poke through the curtains, throwing light into the room, onto the polished loafers and the dirty Converse sneakers that sat beside them; onto the tasteful turtleneck shirt, jacket, and pleated slacks hung neatly over the back of the chair in the corner and the denim jacket, brightly-spotted jumper, and jeans kicked in a pile to the side of the room; and onto the Walkman with its two sets of intertwined headphones on the desk. The clock radio ticked over another minute, and Wham! began their staticky croon.

But the room’s occupants were already awake. In the chill of the morning, they snuggled beneath the blankets, trading lazy touches, sweet caresses, slow kisses. Neither made a move to turn off the radio – not immediately. But one song trickled into another, and another, until they could no longer ignore the time.

The woman sat up and grabbed the hair scrunchie from the bedside table, using it to tie back her wild, blonde curls. The man made a noise of discontent and followed her, throwing an arm over her legs and pressing his face into her side.

“Do you really have to go?” he murmured as she giggled.

“My family is expecting me for Christmas, Uther,” she replied, stroking his dark hair, twisting it at the nape of his neck where it was a little longer. He looked up at her with sad eyes and placed a kiss on her hip, then again and again, as though enough of them would convince her to stay.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” she laughed, but she pulled him up for a proper kiss anyway.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and began to move around the room. Uther propped himself up on one elbow to watch as she hopped around pulling on her jeans, and he laughed as she nearly fell flat on her face. She poked her tongue out at him.

She yanked her jumper over her head and sat on the bed to pull on her shoes. “You know, you should meet them properly,” she said. “My family. They’d like to meet you.”

Uther cleared his throat. “I don’t know, Ygraine. I’ve met your brother once for, what, five minutes and I think he already wants to challenge me to a fight to the death.”

“Naw, Tristan doesn’t mind you so bad. He’s just doing the big brother thing.” Jacket tugged on and her shoes tied, Ygraine flopped forward onto the bed, feet kicking in the air. She took one of Uther’s hands into both of hers and raised it to her lips. “After all, I like you.”

He smiled. “Oh, you  _like_  me, do you?”

“Yup.” She reached into her pocket and took out something – something small, a navy box. Ygraine placed it in Uther’s palm and closed his fingers around it. “Just a little.”

A frown creased Uther’s brow. “What’s this?” he asked, but his tone said he already knew.

She looked him dead in the eye. “A ring.”

“As in…?” Ygraine smiled and nodded slowly. Uther let out a shocked laugh. “Isn’t that something I’m supposed to do?”

“Not necessarily,” she replied, shrugging. “Besides, it’s Christmas. Why not?”

Uther opened his mouth, but words failed him as he opened the box and took out the ring. White gold, by the looks of things, about a quarter of an inch wide. Engraved on the inner circle were the words  _You have my heart._  He met her eyes. “You’re serious?”

Ygraine nodded.

“I…” he stuttered. “This…It’s a huge step and I…”

“I love you.” Ygraine’s voice was strong, was sure. “I want to be with you forever.” When Uther didn’t reply, she got up, tightened her ponytail, and clipped the Walkman to the waist of her pants, leaving one set of headphones on the desk. “Think about it. Call me later – I’ll be at my parent’s until late.” She leaned forward and lay a kiss on slack lips. “Happy Christmas, Uther,” she whispered. She left, closing the door behind her.

*

Uther didn’t call Ygraine – at her parents, or otherwise. And the next day, when Ygraine answered a knock at her door, all she found there was a small, navy box.

*

_One year later_

The party was dull. Sure, there were colourful drinks, and liveliness, and dancing, and music pouring from a boom box someone had brought. Yes, there were also decorations, a toasty hearth, and snow falling in tiny flakes outside the window. It was the perfect place for a young, free man to celebrate the Christmas holiday – but Uther was cold. He sat on the couch against the far wall, tasteless drink in hand and without so much as a flicker of warmth for the festivities. He sighed.

“Hello, Uther.”

Uther lurched to his feet, sending droplets of his drink flying. As he hurried to put his glass aside, Ygraine smiled at him, but it wasn’t the same the cheeky smirk that Uther remembered.

Ygraine,” he whispered. As the seconds of silence lapsed between them, and as their unbroken gaze lingered, he thought of so many things he wanted to say. ‘Hello,’ perhaps, or, ‘How have you been?’ or, ‘Are you enjoying the party?’ Instead what comes out is, “I’ve missed you.”

“Good,” she replied promptly, and with that, she took him by the lapels of his jacket and dragged him to the dance floor.

*

Uther raised his mostly-empty glass of champagne (somewhere around his fifth or sixth tonight) in a toast to nobody in particular. “And that’s how Ygraine and I became engaged!”

“Aw, that’s lovely,” Merlin said, grinning gormlessly.

Arthur, on the other hand, shook his head. “Did you have to tell that story  _again_ , dad?”

“Of course he did,” contributed Morgana, who was by the fire playing a rather imaginative game of chess with Elyan while Elena gave impossibly  _more_  imaginative advice over their shoulders. She looked their way, eyes twinkling mischievously. “It’s Merlin’s first Christmas as a Pendragon. He’s officially one of us now.”

Uther looked at Tom, Olaf, and Godwyn, and the four of them just laughed. “This lot didn’t mind hearing it again, I’m sure,” Uther said.

Elyan and Elena shook their heads. “No.”

Gwen and Gwaine, who were poking around the dessert table yet again (although how they were eating anything more after Christmas dinner was a mystery to everybody), looked up. “Not at all.”

“Nuh-uh.”

Leon, Lance, and Percival, who had suspended their in-depth analysis of the film ‘Interstellar’ in order to listen in, said, “Nope,” in unison.

Arthur sighed: at least now it seemed his father and fiancé were on better terms than the stiff handshake and formal greeting that they had exchanged at the door earlier that evening – even if it did come at the cost of every single one of his friends wearing identical smug expressions. He took a sip from his glass, his engagement ring making a soft clinking sound as it brushed the surface. As he came up again, he heard Merlin clear his throat; when he took the hint and scanned the room, Arthur registered the expectant expressions. Beside him, Merlin was biting his lip trying to suppress a smile.

“So Arthur,” Uther said slowly. “We haven’t heard how you and Merlin got engaged.”

Arthur turned as red as the beetroot salad they’d had at dinner.

That grin returned to Merlin’s face. “Well,” he began.

_End._

**Author's Note:**

> From the banquet scene in The Crystal Cave, it seems to me like Uther is a soppy kind of drunk - the type to give emotional speeches at birthdays and Christmas and stuff like that. And, well, every family has the stories they pull out at major occasions. Something tells me that Arthur and Merlin’s story might soon be right there along side Uther and Ygraine’s :333.
> 
> And whoops, terrible title >.>


End file.
